Publisher: Doubleday Books Page Count: 464 Published: 2020
I’ve read many WWII-focused books about women’s roles in the War, but none were as affecting as this. Lawhon is an incredible storyteller who constructs an incredible story about the real-life character Nancy Wake.
Synopsis: “This book is based on the life of Nancy Wake, an Australian expat who worked as a reporter for Hearst in Paris just before WWII and later as a spy for the British. Lawhon throws readers into the middle of the action, as Nancy, under the alias Hélène, prepares to parachute from an RAF plane into France to help the Resistance in 1944, carrying in her head memorized lists of vital data, including bridges targeted for destruction and safe house addresses. After she lands, the story flashes back eight years, as Nancy struggles for respect and recognition as a journalist; despite her firsthand observations of Nazi brutality in 1930s Vienna, her editor is reluctant to publish a story about what she’s seen. Frequent jumps in time draw out the arc of Wake’s remarkable life; despite her statement early on that women’s weapons of warfare were limited to “silk stockings and red lipstick,” by the end she’s proven herself skillful at physical combat as well.”
Nancy is a heroine of the war, but I had never heard of her. She is strong, resilient, persuasive, a talented navigator of tense situations, and took on Nazis with her bare hands. She was unstoppable and her efforts should be remembered as the heroism they were. I found the balance between Nancy’s heroism and her femininity strong and well-delivered. Wake was a badass woman soldier who was vital to the French resistance, but she was also a wife and lover. She was often met with sexual harassment from the men she worked alongside, and she handled it with a zero-tolerance attitude.
The pacing of this novel was very strong because once I was sucked in, I couldn’t stop reading. Told in alternating timelines, readers meet the various identities Wake assumed throughout the war effort, examining her impact on the War’s trajectory of the German effort to find “the white mouse,” the nickname Wake received. The level of detail is extensive, with thorough descriptions of Nancy’s encounters with different people throughout her story. Many come back and I found the level of detail helpful for distinguishing people. The beginning of the story moves more slowly than the second half, but I think this is intentional. Lawhon had a lot of ground to cover and she sets the stage methodically before diving into the story.
Overall, I highly recommend this book. I think it’s excellent historical fiction and while some may find the beginning a bit slow, I think the end more than makes up for any moments of slowness.
Read It Like Rory 
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